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"To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is...Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss" (4.5.17–18).

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"To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is...Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss" (4.5.17–18).

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Gertrude expresses her sick soul to Ophelia using the language of decay. Her mental health is declining due to the corruption in Denmark. When Gertrude says the word "prologue" in relation to a series of events, she proves the point that this decaying process in their castle is continuous. This means the decaying process has comes to an end. This is foreshadow for the completion of their decaying process. The cycle will repeat itself in each character until they are all dead.

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"O, my offence is rank; it smells to heaven" (3.3.36)

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"O, my offence is rank; it smells to heaven" (3.3.36)

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Claudius's diction refers to his internal rotting, which his guilt is causing. Claudius is decaying mentally because he knows his actions were terrible. His crime smells bad, implying that his action has began to decay, which then spreads like an infection to the others characters, causing them to decay. Collectively, their actions fuel the fire that is corruption. Everything will continue to wither because of the corruption.

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"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.90).

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"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.90).

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The rotting in this case would be figurative, representing the rotting of Denmark. Marcellus's observation refers to the murder of King Hamlet, alluding to the idea that the corruption in Denmark is because of Claudius. The "health" of a nation is in correlation to the King. The King is Claudius and he is a terrible person, which affects Denmark's health. Claudius is the rotting in Denmark. The rest of the characters' actions are directly linked to this, furthering the decaying process of their castle.

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Rotting is often representative of a larger issue either in the real world or within the text. The motif is present in texts figuratively or literally, usually an object in the process of decaying. In Hamlet, the people and objects start to wither, representing corruption in the castle and Denmark. Shertzer states, "By viewing Denmark from the top down as well as inside out, it becomes painfully clear how a society ruled by corruption, greed, and desire can only lead to the complete disintegration of its moral fiber" (Shertzer 11). This disintegration can be viewed as the decaying of objects and the characters in Hamlet.

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Reign of Queen Elizabeth - Shakespeare may have seen Queen Elizabeth I as corrupt because she acted in her own self-interest and purposefully never married, because doing so would remove her from power. Elizabeth also had her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, executed for supposedly conspiring against her.

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Denmark is infected  - Denmark is often compared to a body, whose health reflects the current state of the monarchy. When Hamlet states that "the king's not with the body," he alludes to how King Hamlet's murder and Claudius's rise to power have caused the body of Denmark to grow corrupt and rotten.

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Aside - private words that a character in a play speaks to themselves or to another character that aren't supposed to be overheard by others on stage

Asides are used to show how every character in Hamlet has their own selfish motivations. Claudius's asides reflect his fear that his murder of his brother, and thus the corrupt nature of his position as king, will be discovered. However, Hamlet is also selfish in his asides despite being the protagonist, demonstrating how even he has extremely corrupt and dishonest tendencies.

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Gertrude's Bed - symbolizes the rotten and incestuous relationship between Gertrude and Claudius. It ties together 1.) how Claudius is corrupt because he killed the king and married his wife, Claudius's sister-in-law and 2.) how Gertrude is corrupt and rotten because she married her dead husband's brother only two months after the death of her husband.

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Macbeth - Macbeth also has a corrupt monarchy because Lady Macbeth is able to manipulate her husband into committing awful deeds like murder. The kingdom is corrupt because the king is persuaded to do awful things by someone who is supposed to want the best for him.

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"convocation of politic worms" (4.3.20)
Denotation - convocation: a formal assembly of people
Connotation - Said when Hamlet is asked where Polonuis's dead body is. The use of "convocation"  and "politic" to describe worms to highlight the way the monarchy is rotten. Describing worms feasting on a dead body as if it is a political meeting implies that Claudius and his supporters are so corrupt, they are no less rotten than worms.

"reechy kisses" (3.4.188)
Denotation - reechy: having a strong odor, rancid
Connotation - Said when Hamlet tells his mother to reject Claudius's love. Claudius's kisses are "reechy" because his incestuous love is filthy and disgusting. Everything about him is rotten, especially his relationship with Gertrude.